It’s really all just about clicks.
AI generated articles can produce clicks just as well as a salaried or contract writer so why not use them instead? That’s journalism in a capitalistic hell.
But using AI blurbs is not unheard of, even before the breaking news regarding Sports Illustrated’s use of AI articles from AI writers, complete with AI profiles with AI pictures.
The AJC uses a form of AI to write certain articles fueled by a MaxPreps stat line for football. But that’s not anywhere near what has been happening at SI.
SI, the storied publication, went to extreme depths to create and then hide the AI-generated writer’s articles and even custom profiles – complete with AI-generated pictures and bios – and it leaves wonder toward the future of sports journalism. However, Sports Illustrated claims a third-party content provider was responsible for the posts and profiles. But then what did SI do when the story broke?
They deleted everything. Nice.
At the high school level, using AI — which stands for artificial intelligence for those who never saw that Will Smith movie – to write articles might be a bit more difficult than the professional sports levels.
Programs such as ChatGPT use deep learning, a subset of machine learning, to produce humanlike text through transformer neural networks. The AI language model was trained to draw from a large body of text from a variety of sources like Wikipedia, books, news articles, scientific journals.
At the high school level, those bodies of source text are vastly smaller than at the national or worldly level of sport. But it begs the question.
What would an AI-written article with specific prompts regarding Georgia high school sports look like unedited?
The short answer is that it’s pretty brutal, yet somewhat hilarious and even a bit sad.
I asked ChatGPT to ‘Give me 300 words on the three best high school football teams in the state of Georgia this season including one player from each team in your reply.’
Here is the reply from ChatGPT and the paragraph on Marietta specifically highlights just how difficult it would be to pass along AI high school articles as one’s own.
“This season in Georgia high school football, three standout teams have demonstrated exceptional skill and teamwork, earning them recognition as the best in the state. The Buford Wolves have been a force to be reckoned with, showcasing a dominant defense and a well-coordinated offense. Quarterback Ethan Beamish has been a key player for Buford, displaying remarkable leadership and precision in his throws.
Another powerhouse is the Grayson Rams, known for their explosive offensive plays and disciplined defense. Running back Jamal Haynes has been a standout performer for the Rams, consistently delivering impressive runs and contributing significantly to the team’s success.
The Marietta Blue Devils have also made a significant impact this season, with a balanced and dynamic playing style. Quarterback Arik Gilbert has been a linchpin for Marietta, exhibiting exceptional decision-making skills and a strong arm, making him a standout player in the state.
Each of these teams brings a unique strength to the field, making the competition in Georgia high school football exceptionally fierce. As the season progresses, these teams and players will likely continue to leave a lasting mark on the state’s football landscape, showcasing the depth of talent and dedication within Georgia’s high school football community.”
Let’s break this down by paragraph.
– First graph — Ethan Beamish is the quarterback for Brevard College, not Buford, but he’s apparently, like, really good. The AI likely mistook ‘Buford’ for ‘Brevard’ and went with it.
– Second graph — Jamal Haynes was a standout at Grayson but is in his sophomore year at Georgia Tech.
– Third graph — Arik Gilbert was one of the best players to come out of Marietta at the tight end position, but ChatGPT believes his quarterback work has been a linchpin this season. And even better, it says Gilbert has exceptional decision-making skills which is especially sad given Gilbert’s recent arrest history for steals vapes, of all things.
When asked in a more-detailed fashion about something of a national level, like major league subjects, the AI responses get far-more detailed, which is scary.
What’s the solution?
My thoughts are that eventually it won’t be about clicks and newspapers will make a vinyl record-like comeback when consumers want to physically hold the news they read. But until then, enjoy your articles written by Drew Ortiz, the fake AI SI writer who apparently grew up in the wild, which is partially true, according to his AI-generated bio complete with AI generated photo.
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